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HOW TO FISH IN DHOFAR
written by ANDREW WALKER
“You are not in Canada, my friend – we are going to fish like Omanis today”

DREAMING OF FISHING
Battling giant tuna

Fishing has always been one of my favourite pastimes, for the fresh air, the soft sound of the waves lapping on to the shore and the hours of quiet. And sometimes, if the fish are biting, one can even go home with dinner in the cold box. So when an Omani friend of mine recently invited me to go fishing with him, I jumped at the chance.

The night before, I could hardly sleep as images of courageous battles with giant tuna and sailfish danced in my head. When the morning arrived, I double checked all my gear, loaded the 4WD and drove to pick up my friend. He answered the door still half asleep mumbling something about why I was 30 minutes early. A few moments later I proudly displayed that I had everything we needed and he grumbled something else about all the useless gear that I had piled into the back of my truck. “You are not in Canada my friend, you are in Oman. We are going to fish like Omanis today.”

Our first stop was the fishing tackle shop. We bought hooks, weights and two 100m-long coils of very heavy line, loosely wrapped around a small block of Styrofoam. Thinking of my equipment, I wanted to point out that the line was too thick to put on the fishing reels. Fortunately I kept the thought to myself and thus avoided what would have been a very embarrassing moment.

Next, we drove to the fish market to buy the bait. Entering the souq, my adrenalin jumped at the site of the giant fish the fisherman had caught during the night: tuna, sailfish, barracuda, kingfish, grouper and numerous others of various shapes and sizes. Our objective was sardines, and for one rial we bought enough to fill the small cold box I had brought. Gear and bait secured, we then popped into the ice factory for some ice to keep the bait, and our expected catch, fresh. Ready to go, we headed out.

THE SECRET COAST
The road to Hasik

Our destination was a special spot between Sadah and Hasik, about a two-hour drive from Salalah. My friend takes his fishing quite seriously, and I have been sworn to secrecy about revealing the exact location, although any place along this beautiful stretch of seaside would be a great spot to spend the day. The road from Mirbat to Sadah provides a fantastic view of Jabal Samhan. From that point the highway winds its way along the picturesque shore to Hasik, offering travellers a glimpse of the impressive rock formations that can be found all along the coastline. Although eager to get to the site, I found myself slowing down regularly to admire the scenery, and at one point we stopped for a few minutes to watch a family of dolphins playing in the waters of a protected cove.

Arriving at our secret location, we unloaded the gear, but as I reached for the fishing rods my friend shook his head and told me to leave them in the truck. I shrugged, obeyed the orders, and followed my guide over some rocks to our site. At this point,
studiously watching my friend prepare the gear, I realised why the rods were not going to be necessary. A large hook was tied on to the end of the thick line, in a fashion that provided a type of double leader. This was done to limit the chances of the line being cut by the teeth of our prospective dinner. About 35cm up the line, a lead weight was added. Next, my friend unwound roughly 30m of line and then fixed the Styrofoam block with the remaining line in a crack between two rocks. A generous portion of sardine secured on the hook completed the set-up. My friend began to swing the line with his right hand in a clockwise motion, letting out a bit more line with each revolution until he finally released it. To my amazement, the line sailed out into the sea in a beautiful arch, much farther than would have been possible with a rod and reel. As the bait hit the water, he picked up the line and, keeping it tight, gently pulled it back in, pausing intermittently as the fish apparently investigated the offering.

After a few more demonstrations, my gear was prepared and I got my chance to give it a whirl. The first attempts were disastrous, although my friend found them to be quite humorous. One cast landed way off to the left on the rocks. Another barely made it three metres into the sea. My third attempt crossed the line of my fishing partner, causing both of the hooks to become snagged on a rock as I tried to retrieve the line. After several unsuccessful efforts to free them, the lines had to be cut and new hooks and weights carefully attached.

As late morning drifted into afternoon my skills gradually improved, and we even managed to catch seven fish. At four o’clock we decided to call it a day, and headed back to Salalah at a leisurely pace. It had been a great day, as a day out fishing always is. That evening I arrived home proudly with dinner caught by my own hand using the traditional fishing method. And although I am not yet ready to retire my fishing rod and reel, I will continue to hone my skills fishing like the Omanis. Hopefully one day I’ll take my place beside my friend as a respected fisherman.

KILOMETRE READINGS
Fish between the numbers

Zero your odometer at the Salalah airport roundabout and head west towards Taqah (30.5km), Mirbat (69km), Sadh (133km), Hadbin (159km) and, eventually, Hasik (199km). The road ends at the Jebel Samhan Nature Reserve (206km).